How Phantom of the Opera Should Have Ended II
by majormiryti
Summary: Another take on how the Phantom movie should have ended. Huzzah!


Meg watched as her best friend sailed off with Raoul.

Well, perhaps 'sail' was too strong a word. Christine and her fiancé were in a gondola that Raoul was moving using a long pole, weaving through the maze of underground canals that the Opera Ghost called home. After their near-death experience with the Ghost, the two of never wanted anything to do with any sort of theatre ever again. Ever.

Meg had sent the police and other opera folk away when she saw that nobody was in the Phantom's lair. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but they finally left. She was sure, however, that they were waiting for her on the stairs. As long as they didn't bother her, she was fine. All Meg wanted was to explore for herself without anyone else meddling around.

She glanced at the shattered mirrors on the wall, mentally counting up how many years of bad luck the one responsible for the breakage would get. _Seven...fourteen...twenty-one...hm, on second count, that one's big enough to count for two. Twenty-eight._

She turned and spotted a lovely wooden end table a few yards away. As she walked closer, she saw a white mask on top of the table.

The Phantom's mask.

Meg picked it up, intrigued. It was made of what felt like porcelain, but she knew it couldn't be. The mask was too durable; the Ghost must have worn it every day for years. She put it up closer to her face--

"Put the mask _down._"

Meg jumped, nearly dropping the mask on the stone floor. Behind her was none other than the Phantom himself. Given, he wasn't very menacing sitting with his head in his hands at a desk, but still...

"Are you alright?" she called, immediately regretting it. Of _course_ he wasn't 'fine!'

The Phantom shrugged, not looking up. "Christine is gone."

"Yes."

His dull tone turned angry. "And that stupid girl had the _nerve_ to give me her engagement ring!"

Meg backed up a little. O.G. seemed a little bipolar tonight.

"I swear, I will find her and _make her life miserable_ for running off with _him!_" He stormed about his lair, picking things up at random and throwing them down in a pile.

Meg quietly raised her hand. "Or maybe..."

"_What?!_"

"You could just stay here and haunt a different opera house."

He paused. "There's a new one?"

"I'm sure, somewhere nearby. Our company should be moving there shortly."

"How do _you_ know?"

"With all due respect, _monsieur_, you kind of ruined our old theatre."

"Completely ruined?"

She nodded.

The Phantom looked impressed with himself.

Meg set the mask down on the table. "Will you do it?"

He sighed. "No, I don't think so."

"But why?"

"Perhaps occasionally, but not like here. It wouldn't be the same, and I'm nearly ready to give it up."

"Unless it means making Christine's life miserable."

"Unless it means making her _and_ Raoul's lives miserable."

Meg frowned. "But Paris won't be the same without the Opera Ghost."

A small grin spread across the Phantom's face. "I've got an idea..."

-------

Three years later, the Vicomte de Chagny and his wife were at the new opera house. Christine was onstage--she hadn't been able to stay away after all--and Raoul was watching her perform from his box. At last, they could enjoy an opera without having to worry about the Phantom.

Christine looked up at him, her eyes smiling. She swept her gaze across the rest of the crowd, but then, she spotted someone in a different box out of the corner of her eye. Someone who she hadn't seen in years.

"Christine!" Raoul shouted as she fainted on the stage. The audience buzzed as he raced out of the box and down the stairs. He'd barely registered the person in the box across from him, but he was nearly positive about who it was.

The Phantom of the Opera was back.

-------

Back in the Phantom's lair, Meg took off her mask and folded up her black cloak to put away. Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight bun, and in the darkness of the theatre, no one had noticed its color. "How was that?"

The Phantom himself was sitting in a chair, holding a glass of wine. "Brava, my dear, brava. A little faster on the trap-doors next time, though, don't want to get caught." He still wore his mask, even though he rarely ventured out to haunt the theatre.

Meg smiled at her husband. Nobody from the original company--not even her own mother!--would believe that the second Phantom was _her, _if they ever even found out.

The two Opera Ghosts planned to keep it a secret for a long, long time.

* * *

**A/N: Saw Phantom for the second time last week...my friend suggested this. xD  
Also, I just finished the ORIGINAL _Phantom of the Opera_ novel by Gaston Leroux, and I have to say, it's MUCH better than the movie. Much. For one, our beloved O.G. actually has a name ((Erik)) and a personality, two, Christine isn't a total ditz, and three, it has the Persian. Yay for the Persian! =D  
*cough* Go read it. Now. _The Phantom of the Opera_ by Gaston Leroux. Best. Classic. Book. Ever.**


End file.
